The techniques I teach stem from my own 4 decades long career as an award winning leading actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. They form a path to making "stronger choices"  from a combination of long established tools by some of the greats like Uta Hagen, Stanislavski and Meisner combined with my own methods and exercises that I developed over the years.

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I was blessed with a knack for it from the beginning. Many actors are.  But even with 12 years of training at the outset of my career it still took me many more years to really learn some important lessons and develop the core basis of my work: making strong choices.

 

Looking back I can really see the difference between the characters I played relying solely on innate intuition vs the ones I invested time and work into.

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Acting is like anything: you will get out of it what you put into it. Sure, some people will get famous and have a rockstar career while doing little work. People also win a million dollars in the lottery. And if you don't do the work your chances of winning the lottery are better. 

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And if you don't discover the unique choices and strengths you have to bring by digging deeper, you will be selling yourself short.

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Because; and this is more important than anything else: you have to forget about fame and money. You cannot do it for fame and money. If you seek fame and money you will set yourself up for a life of heartbreak... even if you do "make it" and reach that goal of fame and money. 

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Because, for every actor who is rich and famous, there are thousands who aren't. The competition is difficult. You must be ready to be rejected. You must be content to keep fighting and trying. And even if you  do make it on just raw talent you will be missing out on a deeper and more rewarding connection to what you are doing. Without that connection we tend to feel empty. 

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So if you forget fame and money and you do it for EVERYTHING ELSE.... you will gain a joy and a love for the craft itself that will reward you in so many ways and fill you with satisfaction. (For more on "everything else" see the sidebar)

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I teach all skill levels and whether you are just starting out or already in the midst of your career: everybody has something in them unique and interesting to bring to the role  and I can help you dig deep and find that excellence within you.  

 

And if you are already involved in the business and just dabbling in considering acting classes for fun...  I can tell you, as a long time professional on both sides of the camera, I have learned that all the creative disciplines in film and television open up a path of understanding to each other and inform us to make stronger choices. I commend you and encourage you to jump in.

 

Acting and improv classes can help many professionals  better understand their own craft and look at it from a new perspective:

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• Directors

• Screenwriters

• Public speakers

• People seeking to build confidence

• Anyone wanting help speaking long passages of text

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In my classes we will equip you with the tools to discover the strongest performer in you by cultivating your most precious and unique resource: YOU.

 

The choices you make define you. So the choices you make for your character define your character. If you make strong, bold choices, you will portray a strong and bold performance.

 

I have seen it many times. Too often performers will “fly blind” or perform a scene with a level of uncertainty (not to be confused with letting go and reacting in the moment, after you have done the work).

 

Uncertainty undermines your confidence and makes you self conscious - the actor’s mortal enemy. When you attain a deeper understanding of what is going on in the text and the mind of the character, and why, confidence comes automatically.

 

It’s akin to running onto a battlefield naked and hoping to trust your instincts, vs equipping yourself with armour and weapons, first.

 

That’s the value of my process: I will arm you with the weapons to come up with stronger, unique choices that serve the story and intention of the text, but enable you to bring YOUR ideas and YOUR own strengths so that you can destroy the enemy.

 

And whether the enemy in this metaphor is insecurity, fear, self consciousness, an Oscar, the other actors in the audition room or a tough audience is up to you.

 

You make the choice.